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only from neutrogena® naturals. hello, everyone, i'm alex witt in for thomas roberts. and topping the agenda today, obama in israel for the first time as president. in fact, any minute, we're going to hear from president obama as well as israeli president peres following a closed door meeting happening right now. the president arrived in israel just before 8:30 a.m. eastern time for the first foreign visit of his second term in office. he was greeted on the tarmac with pomp and symbolism. given a warm red carpet welcome from israel's president and prime minister. >> the people of israel welcome you with open heart. we deeply appreciate your friendship and we share your hope that the middle east will enjoy a future of freedom, prosperity and peace. >> i'm confident in declaring

that our alliance is forever. >> day one has already brought a packed agenda for president obama in israel. again, at this hour, he's holding closed bilateral talks there in jerusalem. president obama will hold another closed door discussion, this time with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. now, despite a tense and somewhat tenuous relationship, the two leaders may need one another now more than ever. they are both confronting a changing and dangerous middle east. iran potentially getting closer to israel's nuclear red line. egypt suffering economic and political upheaval. and then of the new questions about whether syria's government is using chemical weapons in its bloody civil war. >> in an unstable and uncertain middle east, the need for our alliance is greater than ever. it's the key to thwarting

dangers to advancing peace. >> once again at this hour, the president is in jerusalem, we are awaiting the remarks from president obama as well as peres after their bilateral talks that are underway. but traveling with the president and joining us right now from jerusalem, nbc white house correspondent peter alexander. and with a long distance hello to you, peter, we have the president spending the back half of his day with prime minister netanyahu. how much is their pressure looming over those talks? >> reporter: well, the last time i was in israel, where you see that windmill over my shoulder, mitt romney was giving a speech. and during that trip, it was netanyahu who seemed to align himself with the president of israel. now these two leaders is trying to show the closeness of the relationship. to say all that friction was in the past, we got along so well, such that there was one moment that stood out. the drama of the morning, perhaps, was during that red

carpet welcoming ceremony. the two of them walking side by side at the tarmac at the international airport in tel aviv. you saw the president take his jacket off and throw it over his shoulder. netanyahu awkwardly thought to himself, what do i do here? do i take it off? do i not. and he did the same as if to show not only were they so comfortable together, they could take their jackets off, the same shirts and blue ties. it was a moment that was really made for the public in this country that has viewed this as being a wide gap between the two leaders. but the primary topic in the conversation for the two later today behind closed doors will be focused on iran. it was netanyahu who said that israel was inclined to strike, willing to attack as early as the spring. the president said the pursuit of nuclear weapons will take until next year before it has really gone too far. that the israelis or u.s. would need to strike. so that is one of the time frames, one of the real items that will be focused on during the course of the private conversations they have here. >> e ya, interesting, though, that body language of the shot of the two gentlemen being

almost fraternal with their coats over their shoulder. may i ask you about the reports of the president's limo having issues earlier today. is that the limo called the beast? >> yeah, in fact, they're pretty much whichever limo he uses is called the beast. we just spoke to the secret service team a short time ago and they told us that here is exactly what took place. there was a mechanical malfunction, mechanical problem with one of these limousines that the president would use as it was driving from tel aviv to jerusalem ahead of the president's arrival. he was not in the vehicle at the time, it's unclear what the problem was, the president was using an suv on the tarmac. used the u.s. presidential helicopter to get here. so the problem has been averted if there ever would have been any problem, they've got plenty of other limousines to use while he is here. >> okay. that is good to know and understandably so.

thank you very much, peter alexander. well, joining me now, ambassador dennis ross, also washington bureau chief for the news channel. gentlemen, thanks so much for joining me. >> thank you. >> nice to be with you. >> ambassador, i would like to speak with you first. when we talk about a piece out today, "time" magazine in which it's characterizing the mission as running to stay put. here's the quote. the president's hopes for this trip are about getting leaders not to do things rather than prompting action. it's -- it's kind of an interesting quote there. the president and benjamin netanyahu, they are known for their rocky relationship, but do they need each other? and need to find common ground more now than ever? >> absolutely. take a look at this region. you did it in your intro. you know, you have the iranian issue and the timing of a possible iranian nuclear development. you have the -- what is a blight

on the international conscience which is going on in syria. you have the awakening in egypt that is being characterized much more by instability than any kind of positive movement towards development. you look at everything that's going on in this region and i haven't even mentioned what's going on with the israelis and the palestinians, the context requires a convergence of approach, a convergence of tactics between both leaders because these are the kinds of challenges and threats that are fundamental to both in our strategic threats to both. so i'd say you see both a need and you also see what i would call a convergence of interests and i think that's why what you're going to see at this moment is not just a focus on trying to avoid actions, which was the implications of that quote, but i would also say looking for where they could be commonality of how we proceed. not just about what you don't do but what you can do. >> a lot of times these foreign trips are about optics.

and as we talk about this, the optics of the president's visit, there are two red lines. there's iran and there's syria in particular dominating all the global discussion, with all the talk of possible chemical attacks in syria. here was robert ford who was on capitol hill just moments ago. let's listen. >> so far, we have no evidence to substantiate the reports that chemical weapons were used yesterday. but i want to underline we're looking very carefully at these reports. >> how do you think these events in syria right now affect the president's visit for both the u.s. and israel. to what extent will they dominate the discussion? >> definitely the israelis' main concern is the threat from iran and then, of course, syria, and then at the bottom of the list if the palestinian issue if they're going to discuss it seriously, which i doubt to be honest with you. look, what this region needs now is strong american leadership.

whether we're talking about managing the crisis, which is catastrophic in syria, managing the iranian nuclear program as well as trying to revive the peace talks between the palestinians and the israelis. now this may not be on top of the concerns of everybody the arab/israeli conflict. but the united states cannot leave it to fester alone. because as everybody's talking about, you know, there's a tsunami sweeping the region. and i don't think israel is immune. i don't think any country's immune. and those young palestinian kids who are now in the early 20s don't remember the catastrophic -- they may resort and go back to the streets again. on syria, what is lacking is a strong american leadership that would coordinate regional efforts, european efforts to hasten the fall of a regime that did the unspeakable to its own people. and if the americans were not that interested in syria, they should be interested in the five countries around syria that are all of them important,

strategically and politically for the united states. turkey, iraq, jordan, lebanon, and israel. and so far, we have not seen this strong american leadership. and that's what the region is hungry for because don't expect regional leadership, not even from a country like turkey. and that's why i hope the president when he comes back takes stock of what's taking place in the region. will change his posture on syria and reach some sort of an accommodation with the israelis on iran to give diplomacy a last chance, maybe, before they resort to other means. >> that is what you hope is the take away from this. in terms of the preamble and the set up, i want to play a comment made earlier about mitt romney and former bush foreign adviser dan senor on "morning joe." >> i think what's striking about this trip, he's coming to israel without a plan. most american presidents who have shown up in israel, clinton went four times. >> right. >> bush went in 2008. they went in a moment that they

were on the cusp of israeli -- >> and the president's coming to close a deal. >> ambassador, i'll have you hold that thought because i'm going to take you right now to the president who is being introduced. they are inside the residence there of shimon peres. let's take a listen to both gentlemen speak. >> president obama, it is a great privilege for me and for the people of israel to host you here in jerusalem. it was a real pleasure to sit with a true friend, very knowledgeable, unfortunately, and see that we can agree and discuss with you openly and freely. after the meeting we just had, i am with more confidence that your vision can be transformed the middle east. your vision is achievable.

you arrived here already with an impressive record of answering our needs. particularly an unforgettabley n the domain of security. i want to thank you personally, dear friend, for the long days and for many long, sleepless nights that we know about them, which you spent caring for our country and for our future. in an age that is both global and domestic, interests may divide people. vision may unite them. there is a common vision uniting us. to bring peace as soon as possible.

the greatest danger is a nuclear iran, so you said so you do. we trust your policy which calls to first by nonmilitary -- by nonmilitary means with a clear statement that both other options remain on the table. you have made it clear that your intention is not to contain but to prevent. we are trying together to restart negotiations with the palestinians. we have already agreed that the goal is a two-state for the two people solution. there is no better one, more achievable one. we consider that the president of the palestinian authority is our partner in that effort to stop terror and bring peace.

hamas remains a terror organization that targets innocent people. on our northern border, iran's proxy, hezbollah, continues to stockpile arms and threaten our civilians while they target innocent people across the world. hezbollah is destroying lebanon and supporting the brutal massacre of the syrian people by president assad. fortunately, the nuclear capacity was destroyed. unfortunately, the arsenal of chemical weapons remain. we cannot -- those weapons to fall in the terrorist hands. it could lead to an epic tragedy.

there was an attempt to bring spring to the arab world. it is an arab choice, it is an arab initiative. it may bring peace to the region, freedom to the people, economic growth to the upstates. if realized, it can lead to a better tomorrow. we pray it will become a reality. i believe the real division is between skeptics and those who believe in peace. your voice will encourage belief. you came to us with a clear message that no one should let skepticism win the day. a vision that says clearly that peace is not only a wish but a possibility. i fully support your call. there is no other way to make the future better. there's no better leader to make it possible.

your visit is an historic step in that direction. we shall journey with you all the way. thank you. >> thank you so much. well, thank you, president peres for your very generous words and your warm welcome. it is wonderful to be here once again. i first visited you when i was still a senator. and had the opportunity to visit the lovely garden. and for me to be able to bring a tree from the united states that will find a home in that garden, i think, is symbolic of not only the friendship between our two nations but between the two of us personally. mr. president, you once remarked that a prime minister's job is to rule, a president's job is to charm. well, as with all of our visits together, i have once again suck co succumbed to your charms and i'm

grateful to your hospitality. it is wonderful to be back in jerusalem, this eternal city and i'm pleased to begin my visit with a son of israel who has devoted his life to keeping israel strong and sustaining the bonds between our two nations. president peres knows this is a work of generations, just as he joined the struggle for israeli independence in his early 20s, he's always looking ahead, connecting with the young people. and i'm especially grateful for the time that you allowed me to share with those extraordinary israeli boys and girls. their dreams are much the same as children everywhere. in another sense, though, their lives reflect the difficult realities that israelis face every single day. they want to be safe, they want to be free from rockets that hit their homes or schools, they want a world where science and technology is created to build and not destroy. they want to live in peace, free

from terror and threats that are so often directed at the israeli people. that's the future that they deserve. that's the vision that is shared by both our nations. and that is shimon peres' life work. and michelle and i have such fond memories of your visit to the white house. last spring when i was honored to present you with america's highest civilian honor, our medal of freedom. and that medal was a tribute to your extraordinary life in which you held virtually every position in the israeli government. today was another opportunity -- from the historic changes taking place across the region to the perils of a nuclear armed iran, to the perils and peace between israelis and palestinians to the promise of our digital age. one of the advantages of talking to president peres is not only does he have astonishing vision,

but he's also pretty practical-minded politician. and consistently has good advice in terms of how we can approach many of these problems. i reaffirmed to president peres as i will throughout my visit that in this work, the state of israel will have no greater friend than the united states. and the work we do in our time will make it more likely the children that we saw today alongside children from throughout the region have the opportunity for security and peace and prosperity. you know, this obligation to future generations, i think was well symbolized by the tree planting that we started our meeting with. you know, recounts the story of the miracle worker who saw a man planting a tree and he asked the man how long before this tree yields fruit? to which the man responded 70

years. and so he asked, are you sure you'll be alive in another 70 years to see it? and the man replied, when i came into the world, i found these trees. as my forefathers planted for me, so will i plant for my children. president peres i think understands that story well. and so we want to all thank you for all the seeds you've planted, the seeds of progress, seeds of security, the seeds of peace. all the seeds that have helped not only israel grow but also the relationship between our two nations grow. and i believe that if we tend to them, if we nurture them, they will yield fruit in every hill and valley of this land not only for the children we met today, but for israelis, for palestinians, for arabs across the region. that's not only good for the children of this region but it's good for my children and the children of america.

i deeply believe that. and i couldn't ask for a more wise or more thoughtful partner in that process. i'm very grateful for your h hospitality and look forward to our continued work in the future. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> so, there you have it. a very important meeting between these two. of course, the president's first visit overseas of his second term, but his first official visit as president now to israel and now speaking with israeli president shimon peres. and they're making the statement and taking great pains, really, to emphasize the strength of their friendship here as i bring back ambassador dennis ross to the conversation. ambassador ross, how important is that? given all of the publicity around the more tenuous relationship between benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister, and this president. it seems to me that they each

were echoing, you know, tremendous friendship and warmth between them. >> well, i think you have to look at a visit like this as having two parts. one part focuses on what are the very hard, practical issues and realities that have to be confronted? and having in a sense more understanding about how you're going to proceed to deal with those issues. whether it's iran, whether it's syria, which is going to be, i think, a more immediate challenge than people had thought. whether it's the arab awakening, whether it's the palestinians. on one level, there is this very hard headed practical approach where you try to come to understandings. at another level, there's the whole question of what's the emotional connection? what is the kind of psychological bond or links that exist. because when you make decisions, obviously they take place in a context. i think what you're seeing right now, both in what the two men said but also what you'll see the president do during the course of this trip is focus on that emotional connection, as well, as a way of saying, we have israel's back, there are

issues on which we can work together, these are hard issues. we may not always agree on every detail, but you can count on us to approach it in a way that will take israel's interest into heart and into mind. so i think that's the dimension that we see coming out from this initial kind of meeting. and i would add, i think you're going to have that kind of flavor throughout the course of the visit. >> and the words there come as no surprise. the reality that united states and israel have had a long standing relationship in support of one another. how do you think this gets received in the arab world? given this president has put out there from the white house, this is something of a listening tour, this is not necessarily a policy tour, but it's a chance for the president to get familiar with the region personally to leave a personal mark there. how does this get interpreted over in palestinian lands? >> for many palestinians and arabs, it's puzzling to say the

president after four years in the white house knowing netanyahu, having long meetings with netanyahu and with mahmoud abbas and king abdullah in jordan is going on a listening tour. that's a bit strange. but the arabs understand that the president needs to mend the fences with the israeli leadership, particularly with netanyahu and build bridges to the israeli people. i don't think we will be unfair if we say that this is the trip quote, unquote, i love you israel trip that israeli supporters would say he should've done it four years ago. the president does not carry any initiative, he's not going to push the parties for any initiative. i think he realizes like most people the new israeli cabinet is full of people who believe in building settlements and some of them believe in annexation of the west bank. i hope the president will not fall into the old refrain. the united states should want peace even more than the parties. you leave the parties alone, they are not going to reach peace. and unless the americans exert leadership and push both sides to reach an understanding and

hopefully find the peace between the palestinians and the israelis. this issue will be exploited by the radicals in the region and the region has more than its share of radicals, whether on the arab side or the israeli side. and this issue will always be exploited by these radicals -- not only against the regions, but against the united states' interests. we no what are the facts. the question is, is the will to lead on the part of the united states to push both sides to reach an agreement is there or not. and inso far, i really don't see it. >> well, i think over the next three days we'll see if there's more of that. but certainly bilateral talks, private ones behind closed doors, that may be, indeed happening. my thanks to both of you. also, msnbc will have live coverage this afternoon. we are keeping our eyes on breaking news out of colorado.

authorities are searching for a suspect in the shooting death of the state's department of corrections director. he was shot dead in his own home as he opened the front door. this by an unknown gunman last night. a live report and we're going to speak with a representative from the el paso county sheriff's office in a few minutes. mornings, give or take, is all we humans get. we spend them on treadmills. we spend them in traffic. and if we get lucky, really lucky, it dawns on us to go spend them in a world where a simple sunrise can still be magic. twenty-five thousand mornings. make sure some of them are pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org.

at 28 past the hour, giving you live pictures right now of the president who has moved on to his next thing on the agenda today and that's meeting with that man, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. of course, the two greeted one another warmly on the tarmac when the president touched down there on air force one earlier this morning. the president, as you know, if you've been watching live, just finished his meeting with shimon peres where he's doing the same thing he's doing now, he signed the guest book and we're putting a real close focus there on this president signing the guestbook. of course, there is a lot at

stake and a lot we'll be watching in terms of the conveyance of the body language, the personality, the warmth that may or may not develop between our president and israeli president benjamin netanyahu. much has been made over a somewhat cool relationship. at times somewhat turbulent, which is really juxtaposed of what we saw earlier with shimon peres, where the two took great pains to emphasize the warm and friendly relationship between them, talking about how a prime minister's role is to govern and rule as it has been said before by president shimon peres. and clearly the two presidents had a charm offensive there with each other. we will see. benjamin netanyahu maybe is in a bit more of a difficult position. he is there to rule in israel and it is quite obvious that things have not always gone according to his plan in terms of what he would like to get from the united states and president obama. so we're going to be watching

this. we know a tree was planted at president shimon peres' home, which our president hoped would blossom and grow and be a long standing trip to a warm relationship between the two. this is something that will have a news conference at 2:05 p.m. these two gentlemen, these leaders will go into some closed bilateral talks, i believe dinner will be served. about that hour over there in israel. and we will have a news conference after which we will cover that live at 2:05 p.m. eastern time. we do have some breaking news out of colorado that we're tracking for you. we're giving you right now a bird's eye view over that city. that's where a massive man hunt is underway for a man suspected of shooting and killing of the state department of corrections. all the houses close to the home of this man, prison chief tom clements, he was gunned down when he answered his front door last night. now, all this is unfolding the very same day that the state's governor is due to sign a new set of gun control laws.

just moments ago, the governor gave quite an emotional statement about clement, the man he described as the quintessential public servant and good friend. >> he did his job quietly and intently. he cared deeply about his staff and his family and the community. tom dedicated his life to being a public servant, to making our state better, to making a world a better place. and he is going to be deeply, deeply missed. >> joining me by phone is lieutenant jeff kramer of the sheriff's department. thank you for joining me, a very, very tough time. tell me about the man you're looking for there. do you have a suspect? >> well, unfortunately, we don't have a suspect as of yet. however, we do have a vehicle of interest that we would like help from our local community in further identifying. it was a vehicle that was observed last night about 15 minutes prior to us receiving

the first 911 call, a vehicle parked on the side of the road, unoccupied, but it was running. a couple minutes later, it was gone, observed a near time later on a nearby roadway traveling west and south on jackson creek parkway headed back towards the interstate, if you will. and that vehicle, of course, we're describing -- or is being described as a late '90s model boxy style two-door. something similar to a '90s model lincoln, although we're not saying definitively it is a lincoln. dark, black in color, described as shiny. when it was in motion, so to speak, it did have one occupant. we have no description of that person. but obviously this particular vehicle of interest is the best lead we have thus far. we are looking to the community for help in further identifying that and who may have been operating that vehicle last night. >> yeah, and lieutenant, while you're giving me a great description of the vehicle and its traveling direction and all that, any witnesses to this

shooting? and can you confirm that literally director clements opened front door and was shot dead there? >> i do know that a family member was home at the time of this shooting. it was a family member who placed that 911 call to our office. we're not commenting on which family member that was. as far as what their level of observation might have been of the actual event, we're not releasing that, as well, because obviously they could have been in a different part of the home and not observed anything but rather just heard something. so we're moving forward with obviously trying to put the pieces together as far as what may have led up to this crime and what occurred, you know, at that doorway and in that area when the shooting occurred. >> okay. lieutenant jeff kramer, many thanks for bringing us up to date on all this. let's go to kusa live for us in monument with the very latest. any updates on the search there? >> reporter: we have actually seen sheriff deputies and investigators search through this wooded area within the past

hour or so. they've been walking through here, combing this area, these lots are very large and these are very wooded heavily wooded areas. so they didn't know if that suspect originally fled on foot. that's why they were focusing so much on here. now, way up the hill, we are pretty far away from where this house is. but you can kind of see a trail of the cars. those are the investigators cars and they've been going back and forth, a number of agencies working with the el paso county sheriff's department up at that house, but they have been busy since last night. they say it is so good the sun has finally come up here because working against the night hours has been very hard for them. in fact, as soon as the sun came up, they started releasing more information about that car description. so they're hoping they'll be able to see more about what has happened here and go through this wooded area. they think they've talked to just about all the neighbors that are around here, but they hope to get more information from anyone who saw anything. >> okay. kusa reporter, thank you so much being live for us there in monument, colorado. in the debate over gun

control, what was seen as the most ambitious measure to curb gun violence now appears to be all but dead in a stunning announcement yesterday, harry reid said he would not be bringing to the floor the highly controversial assault weapons ban, that bill because it has less than 40 votes. so let's listen to what senator dianne feinstein had to say. >> the enemies on this are very powerful. i've known that all my life. it doesn't take a weapon away from anyone. i mean, my goodness, the nra says there are 2 million of these or 3 million of them whatever it is in the country already. how many assault weapons do you need in the united states of america? >> joining me now a democrat from connecticut. senator, it's very good to see you. thank you for joining me. >> thank you, alex. >> i'd like at the cover of "the daily news" here in new york. it shows the pictures of the victims of sandy hook elementary. right there in the center,

"shame on u.s." senator blumenthal, what happened here? and do you agree about the power of so-called enemies? is this what made harry reid reverse his promise to bring this bill to the senate floor? >> you're right, alex, to describe this assault weapon ban proposal as the most ambitious. we always knew it was going to be an uphill fight. we always knew that the opponents were staunch, ruthless and relentless. and harry reid has done what may be the smart tactical move which is to separate the assault weapon ban so we can move forward on prohibitions against illegal trafficking, straw purchases, and also achieve a background check on all firearm sales as well as very likely a strengthening of those background checks by including information that is not right now in the data base. so there are measures that still can be considered. but dianne feinstein is right that these opponents have one --

at least an initial round. but not giving up hope or the fight. we can offer it as an amendment on the floor. >> so you talk about straw purchasing provisions, grant programs for school security, expansion of background checks. well, as you know, sir, the polls have shown overwhelming support for the background checks. are we going to see a bipartisan support for what's on the table now? >> i think we will see bipartisan support for some of these measures like illegal trafficking and straw purchases prohibition. possibly even for a ban on high-capacity magazines. that is the clips that contain more than 10 rounds which were so integral, as you know, to the newtown massacre. the children there, a number of them were able to escape because the shooter had to change magazines. if there were smaller numbers of rounds in those clips, maybe more could've escaped and like wise in the shooting in various other places. >> sure, aurora, colorado, same

thing. >> aurora, colorado, tucson, a young girl might still be living if the number of rounds was limited to ten. but we need to continue this fight and your point, i think, is really preeminently important because the american people are behind these measures. the american people are on our side. 80%, 90% of the polls show they are behind even the assault weapon ban. and so we need to mobilize and organize that feeling among the american people that we need to do something about gun violence and no single state can do it alone. there's no single solution. >> well, interesting, though, you bring up the states. if you look at the state of colorado. governor hickenlooper signed three gun control bills. the bills ban ammunition magazines with more than 15 rounds. what were we just talking about here? they require universal background checks for the gun buyers, also require gun buyers to pay for their own background checks.

you have colorado joining new york now passing these aggressive gun bills since the tragedy at sandy hook. do you think ultimately it'll be up to the states to get something done given the gridlock in washington? >> ultimately we need a national solution. illegal trafficking of guns that go to the streets of new york or denver know no respect for state borders. they will be trafficked across those borders. the borders are porous. so handguns, assault weapons can be brought from new york to colorado and vice versa. and the national background check has to be national. it has to be done with a data base that collects information on people who are mentally ill, people who are convicted of serious crimes, people who are domestic abusers from all states around the country. and some of the opponents make a good point that we need stronger national and more aggressive enforcement. that has to be done nationally too. no single state has the answer.

>> all right. senator, thank you for stepping outside of actually hearing on drones right now. so you can get back to that and we'll want to speak with you down the road about the information from there. thank you, sir. >> thank you. coming up -- south carolina's new comeback kid. former governor mark sanford makes it to the runoff round in the palmetto state's special election. will he make it to the final round? [ lisa ] my name's lisa, and chantix helped me quit. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic

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in south carolina, mark sanford is the latest political comeback kid. the scandal plagued former governor trounsed a field of 15 opponents for tim scott's vacant congressional seat. but since he failed to clear the 50% bar, he's going to have to face an april 2nd runoff. whoever wins that race, though, will square off against democratic opponent elizabeth colbert bush, the sister of stephen colbert. she beat her only opponent by a

landslide. let's bring in today's power panel. welcome to the three of you. >> great to be here. >> thanks. >> david, i'm going to just talk about surprise here. how surprised are you at this election? and what do you think is going to happen next? >> well, it's become very interesting all of a sudden, you have a celebrity sort of on one side, related to a celebrity and then you have, you know, sanchez -- sanford's victory that makes a point that there's no final -- there's never a final chapter in politics. and the fact he can come back after what happened when he was governor how he left in disgrace there and has his wife -- asked her to be involved in his campaign. i think it sets up an interesting race. tim scott had a lot of sport when he was elected from the tea party. so i think they're going to be very influential and this is going to be something of a bell weather to see how much support sanford can get from that side.

>> elizabeth colbert bush, does she stand a chance in the red state? i'll grant you, she won by 96% in this democratic party. but it wasn't particularly well turned out. i think only about 15% of the voters turned out for this. >> you have to look at the fact -- she didn't have 16 people in the primary like they did on the republican side. she's got tremendous name i.d., she's gotten a lot of press off her brother's name. but she is very committed to doing this. whereas on the republican side, this is classic example of nothing ceases to amaze me in politics and truth is stranger than fiction. but the fact is, sanford does have a runoff coming. he's facing tough competition and we'll see how the outcome of that runoff is on the republican side. but ultimately, this part of south carolina, tim scott's district, i'm confident it will go to the republicans, even though colbert-bush will be a tough challenger. this is a republican area and i'm confident that gop will come out on top. >> a very interesting race to watch. and i can talk about it all day

because i'm fascinated by the psychology. but my producer's saying no. i'm going to talk about rand paul with you for a moment. yesterday at the u.s. hispanic chamber of commerce, let's listen to that. >> we aren't going to deport 12 million illegal immigrants. >> if you wish to live and work in america, then we will find a place for you. >> now, there is one word that's an omission there. he does not mention the word citizenship. do you think he's parsing and picking his words wisely so not to put off conservatives? >> well, i think that rand paul has done a wonderful job of doing just that, alex. being nuanced in whether he's talking about drones, tax reform -- he's always been very nuanced to make sure he has -- and people starting to realize a wider vision for his own political career and that's exactly why he didn't mention specifically pathway to citizenship. what's interesting, though, prior to that a.p. story i can share with you that the chatter

was he was going to talk about pathway to citizenship. so i might -- you know, the big question is, did he back away from that after he heard the chatter and heard that individuals were not welcoming it in the extreme part of the party. let's be clear. short of a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumenteds, the republican party is still going to have a latino vote problem. what's going to happen, unless we provide a pathway to citizenship eventually, what's going to happen is every day american latinos are going to always have a question mark when they interact with every day americans when people are going to ask them, are you here as an american citizen or a legal resident? >> well, this is becoming an issue being taken on by the gop and a somewhat sounding more moderate way. you've got marco rubio leading the bipartisan group of senators. and if you look to last weekend at cpac, rand paul finished first, closely following behind rubio in second.

do you sense a 2016 rivalry going on here? we're excited already here at msnbc about the race. >> wait a second, we have three weeks, we have to pass the immigration reform. now, in all seriousness, what he's able to bring to the table, he's able to bring in a lot of the libertarians that supported and supported his father and at the same time, trying to, you know, widen the tent and bring in some of the republicans that may not be as fiscally conservative, but socially conservative. >> and alex, your thoughts on this, as well. >> certainly, we learned a lesson in the last presidential election we need to reach out and appeal to hispanics, african-americans, female. and immigration reform is critical. and i think rand paul made important points, but we have to make sure we look at comprehensive immigration reform. marco rubio has good points. but looking ahead to 2016, a great piece out by dave price in iowa who has his finger on the pulse of 2016. they're welcoming folks like

rand paul, rick santorum, and they also bring in the social conservative vote which is critical. >> okay. our power panel. by the way, david, i'll expect to hear more from you, okay, on saturday. i'll make it up to you on my show. thank you so much. a deadly mortar explosion that ill killed seven marines, prompting the pentagon to immediately ban the use of 16 millimeter mortar shells and firing tubes until officials can figure out what went wrong. all this as hundreds turned out to honor those who died. >> we place this wreath as a token of affection from their comrades in arms. >> the names of the victims are expected to be released this evening. talk about a bracket buster, republicans pounce on the president for his ncaa tourney picks. details are ahead in the side bar. was a picky eater. well now i'm her dietitian and last year, she wasn't eating so well.

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rick scott's reelection bid, the latest quinnipiac poll shows if the race was held today, crist now on the democratic ticket, best governor scott with registered voters, 50-34%. the polls also says he increased his availability with voters by switches parties. a if getting hacked wasn't enough. former president bush e-privacy just took another hit. gawker published his e-mail address and encouraged readers to send him a message. photos and the former president's self-pour trades. well, that's a wrap of things for me right now. things back here tomorrow as thomas roberts continues his break. join me then for the president's

the israeli's public, which is expected right at 11:00 a.m., and jamie rubin, right now my television, the other alex will be up there. i like that. >> i lie the twin thing. >> it's all good. president obama is in israel and is dpreeted as the airport with red carpets and rose petals, but will his meetings there be all hugs and kisses. michael steele, victoria defran chez ko soto and kurt anderson to discussing the unbreakable alliance. in the meantime, what about washington? six budgets are on the table. will any survive? plus we'll like at rand paul's kind of maybe acceptance of reform, and all that, and elizabeth colbert's win in south carolina, we start in a mere 180

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